1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed toward handles, and more particularly toward handles for use with window operators.
2. Background Art
Window operators are well known in the art for controlling positioning of a window sash relative to a window frame. While many such operators can be motor driven, typically such operators are manually controlled and driven by pivoting of a handle connected to the operator drive shaft.
It has been heretofore found that a good orientation of the operator drive shaft is approximately 35 degrees to horizontal. Still further, it has been found to be preferable to configure the handle so that the manually grasped end of it (typically having a knob thereon) is spaced outwardly from the operator and its cover, which spacing helps to ensure adequate room so that the person pivoting the handle will not risk banging his/her knuckles on the sash, the window pane, or the window frame or sill adjacent the sash during pivoting. Of course, such banging of the knuckles can not only hurt the person, but can also mark or soil the areas of the window being contacted. Further, particularly in connection with the glass pane in the sash, such banging of the person's knuckles presents some risk of breakage which would not only damage the window but also create a serious danger to the person.
Unfortunately, the above described need to project the handle outwardly from the operator and its cover makes the handle more susceptible to being accidentally bumped by a person having no intent to use the operator. A person who accidentally bumps the handle could damage or even break the handle. At a minimum, such bumping can cause the handle to be soiled and/or scratched, and thereby result in an aesthetic eyesore at the edge of an area (the window) typically intended to attract visual attention. The person might also himself/herself be bruised or hurt from bumping into the handle. Still further, bumping of the handle could also result in some turning of the handle, with natural resulting movement of the window. While such movement might be slight, only slight movement of the window is required to break the weather seal of a closed window, with a resultant unrecognized significant loss of energy around the sash.
Unrecognized pivoting of an operator handle as a result of accidental bumping is also particularly undesirable in installations where pivoting of the operator handle controls not only movement of the window sash but also the condition of the window lock. (That is, some window operators, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,617,758, 4,937,976, 5,054,239 (Re. 34,230) and 5,152,103, unify the lock and operator function so that initial pivoting of the handle with a closed window unlocks the window locks and subsequent pivoting causes the window sash to open.) Obviously, accidental bumping of handles in such unified operators could result in a window being unknowingly unlocked and thereby dangerously susceptible to forced entry.
In order to address these problems, some operators have been provided with handles which can be folded to a storage position against the operator cover. Further, some operators have been specially adapted to use such folding of the handle in their functioning (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,976). While such prior art handles have addressed some of the above mentioned problems, they can introduce new problems.
For one, such folding handles must be adequately secured in whichever position is desired. For example, if the handle is not securely maintained in its storage position when not in use, it might be moved to the operable position, whether by gravity or bumping or some other force, and therefore fail to meet the purpose of its folding feature. Conversely, if the handle is not securely maintained in its operable position when being pivoted by a person, there is a risk that the handle would fold down during pivoting. If that were to unexpectedly occur, the user might very well bang their hand against the window and hurt either or both.
Of course, the need to adequately secure such handles conflicts with the requirement, for ease of use, that the handle also be easily movable between such positions. Folding the handle from one secure position to another might not, as a practical matter, be done if doing so is difficult. That is, a person might consciously choose not to bother with folding the handle if it is too difficult. Further, if such folding is too difficult, the person using the window might not even recognize that it can be done and therefore either unknowingly leave the handle in the operable position or even try to operate the handle when in its storage position.
Still further, it is highly desirable that such handles be sturdy enough so that they can not only provide reliable service over numerous years, but also adequately transmit the sometimes high forces required in window operation (particularly when closing the sash against, or opening it from, the weather seal around the frame). However, since it is a primary object of windows to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance and an open feel to the room, it is also desirable that the visible window operator components (the handle being perhaps the most prominent) be themselves aesthetically pleasing while at the same time minimally intruding on the open feel provided by an open window and/or the glass when closed. Simply put, a window should draw a person's attention to the opening therethrough, not to the operator components located along the side of the window. Thus, the design of folding handles requires a difficult balancing of their strength and durability needs with the desire for a compact and attractive appearance.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.